Building Capacities of Public Institutions for Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Concrete Challenges and Potential Solutions

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1 HLPF Side Event Building Capacities of Public Institutions for Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Concrete Challenges and Potential Solutions Wednesday, 20 July 2016, 18:15-19:30 Meeting Notes The HLPF side-event on Building Capacities of Public Institutions for Implementing the SDGs was coorganized by UNDESA and UNDP. The objectives of the side-event were to: illuminate the most pressing capacity development needs and priorities of countries to implement the SDGs, with a particular focus on the capacities of public institutions; provide guidance on how to bring governments and non-government actors, including but not limited to civil society, the private sector, and the international community together with the UN system, to ensure coordinated national and local efforts to achieve the SDGs and adapt national and local public institutions; discuss how the HLPF and its reviews can best contribute to building capacities to implement and review the 2030 Agenda. The following summary of the proceedings is organized as follows: It lists the main points raised by the speakers and participants in the Opening, Discussions and Closing segments of the meeting. It then categorizes the totality of the proceedings into main areas of support required in relation to the implementation of the SDGs; followed by the main areas of existing support available to the Member States embarking upon the implementation phase of the SDGs. 1. Main Points 1.1. Opening: Ms. Helen Clark, Administrator, UNDP stated that Institutions that are effective and accountable will play a central role in achieving the SDGs. Many of the 169 SDG targets make direct reference to the need for institutional capacities. The challenge is to build strong public administrations, which can manage complex crosssectoral challenges including, inter alia, inequalities, marginalization and discrimination, the disconnect between states and people and corruption, all with serious consequences on social cohesion. Sustainable development requires coordination across economic, social and environmental policy-making. The goal must be to promote inclusive growth, which does not exacerbate inequalities or destroy the environment. This requires a whole-of-government approach and coordination. 1

2 Public administrations must be able to adapt and integrate the global goals into national and local development programmes, which respond to people s needs. The domestication of the SDGs is important for establishing national ownership, local initiatives and for engaging a wide range of national and local stakeholders in implementation. Public administrations must also have the capacities to monitor and evaluate progress through appropriate data design, collection, analysis and dissemination. Disaggregated data and evidence-based policy-making are vital for effective policy-making.this requires being able to identify sectors of populations that are left behind, and to overcome exclusion. Public institutions, more specifically, should avail themselves of greater stakeholder engagement in policy development. It is important to include the voices of vulnerable and marginalized people, and to foster transparency, accountability and trust in the public sector. UNDP has significant experience in supporting countries public administration reform needs, including towards promoting professional, transparent, and accountable public service and performance in line with the international standards and principles. Post-conflict contexts require particular attention. Both short and long-term approaches to addressing institutional weaknesses are needed if political settlements to end conflict and to restore peace are to be successful and durable. Overcoming fragility requires the restoration of core government functions and the building of institutional capacity to manage stabilization, transition and recovery, including rehabilitation, reconstruction and resettlement. Somalia: Mr. Abdirahman Yusuf Ali Aynte, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Federal Republic of Somalia Somalia recently launched its National Development Plan, the first in thirty years. The country has been quick to sign up to the SDGs. It established an SDG Unit within the Ministry to localize the SDGs. Somalia still faces the following challenges: (i) lack of data (economic, demographic, etc.) because of protracted conflict; (ii) weak state institutions (federal and state level) to process, understand and implement SDG targets across all 17 goals; (iii) due to its non-participation in the implementation of the MDGs, no prior foundation to launch the SDGs. Some solutions to the aforementioned challenges might include the strengthening of three key institutions: (i) the newly created SDG Unit, which should work together with federal and local institutions to localize the SDGs and to focus on key targets; (ii) the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit in the federal government to ensure that the main targets are met and that the follow-up is sustained; (iii) the National Statistics Bureau, which is now able to collect key data such as household surveys, and other economic and social data. The Moderator stated that there is a strong need for disaggregated data across the SDGs. He asked what efforts are being undertaken to collect this data, and to make it available and accessible to individual ministries and organizations. 2

3 Somalia stated that it released its first population estimation survey with support from UNFPA. The survey provided vital information about how many people live in the country, what gender they are, their age brackets, and where they live. A second example is the high frequency survey supported by the World Bank. This innovative household survey uses a dynamic questionnaire loaded on a smartphone, and which enables the collection of data on expenditure, price and perception within 60 minutes of interviewing a household. The results from the survey are helping inform the design of economic development plans, programs and policies. Germany: Mr. Thomas Silberhorn, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Federal Republic of Germany One important challenge has been to adapt the national sustainable development strategy (adopted in December 2014) to the 2030 Agenda. The national agenda was mapped against the SDGs and the gaps were identified. In this process, several lessons-learned have emerged: (i) there is a need to revise the national agenda with quantifiable benchmarks and also to factor-in the social dimension, including inequality, among other things; (ii) Coherent and competent national monitoring mechanisms, and the localization of the global indicators in line with the context are key; (iii) It is essential that the different branches and entities of government (National Statistics Office, Chancellery and Ministries) work together to find the gaps and share data. Some indicators are yet to be defined in the German context. The Moderator asked what efforts have been made that are relevant to decentralization. Germany responded that decentralization is part of many bilateral programs. Germany sees that in many countries these imbalances are one of the root causes of conflict/crisis. To prevent escalation and future conflict, decentralization strategies need to be implemented and should be combined with the implementation of the SDGs. Estonia: Mr. Ado Lohmus, Deputy Secretary General of the Ministry of Environment, Republic of Estonia Many countries are realizing the economic benefits of using natural resources more efficiently but more action is needed. Sustainable growth is required to improve the added value of resources. Challenges include ensuring economic growth based on productivity, particularly based on resources and energy, and decoupling growth from the carbon footprint in innovative, efficient and cost-effective ways. Estonia has a very energy intensive economy, and reducing carbon 3

4 intensity of the energy sector is a priority. The rate of material consumption is one of the highest in OECD countries. The country has adopted national targets for sustainable consumption and production, one of the first countries within the European Union to do so. To advance the SDG agenda, the public sector must be open to commissioning applied research and development, and enabling greater engagement of scientists in policy making. Dr. Helder da Costa, Secretary General of g7+ The g7+ believes that there is no peace without development, and no development without peace. And no development will take place without strong institutions. The g7+ along with international development partners and civil society crafted and agreed on the New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States in These principles will continue to guide the implementation of Agenda 2030 in the g7+ countries. Political will to achieve the SDGs is not an issue in g7+ countries, but limited capacity is. Other challenges include the following: (i) Achievement of peace and political institutions is a matter of will, but to transform will into actions, conditions need to be right at national, regional and global levels; (ii) In conflict countries, institutions are weak and need support to implement and monitor the SDGs. Initiatives undertaken by g7+ countries to address these challenges include the establishment of a Council of eminent persons to help countries foster dialogue and resolve conflicts. Recommendations include: (i) contextualized implementation of SDG 16 should be prioritized; and (ii) the Central Statistics Office requires resources to monitor and evaluate progress. Mr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, Senior Vice-President, World Bank In implementing the 2030 Agenda, countries are not starting from scratch. There is a great deal of learning from the implementation of the MDGs, including lessons from MDG acceleration. Dr. Marianne Beisheim, Senior Associate, German Institute for international and Security Affairs Domestication/localization of Agenda 2030 requires ideas for innovative solutions and institutions. Achievement of the SDGs requires aligning institutions and incentivizing policy coherence. It is good to note that UN support through its MAPS approach is getting better aligned with the agenda. 1 A key agreement between fragile and conflict-affected states, development partners, and civil society to improve the current development policy and practice in fragile and conflict-affected states. It was developed through the forum of the International Dialogue and signed by more than 40 countries and organizations at the 4th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness on November 30th 2011 at Busan, Korea. For more, see 4

5 On fragility, the OECD predicts that as many as 62 percent of the most impoverished people could be living in fragile states by Discussion: Helen Clark, UNDP Administrator: It is important to tap into the lessons learned from implementation of the MDGs. We should also recognize that the MDGs had a narrower focus with an emphasis on mainly social outcomes. The SDGs are much broader and look at what drivers would enable the achievement of the agenda. Effective institutions are important drivers in this regard. Abdirahman Yusuf Ali Aynte, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Federal Republic of Somalia: While there is a focus on SDG 16 in fragile and conflict-affected states, it is also important to consider SDG 17, which is about shared responsibility and collaboration on the SDGs. Erin McCandless, Civil Society Platform on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding and Co-chair of the Implementation Working Group of the New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States: It is important to realize SDG implementation through new deal principles. Country-owned fragility assessments can look into how to create political dialogue and how to build consensus to help address conflict and fragility. Mahmoud Mohieldin, Senior Vice-President, World Bank: Ending poverty is a priority for the World Bank, so any data that helps in achieving this goal is prioritized. Helen Clark, UNDP Administrator: It is important to prioritize gender disaggregation. Conducting a census is a huge challenge, so different collection mechanisms will be needed, including big data and sample surveys Closing: Marion Barthelemy, Acting Director, Division for Public Administration and Development Management, UNDESA (on behalf of Wu Hongbo, Under Secretary-General, UNDESA) stated that SDGs are a challenge for all countries. There is tremendous commitment by countries to followup on the SDGs as it was seen during the HLPF. It is clear how much we can learn from each other. Discussions in this side-event highlighted key institutional capacity challenges faced by countries, including domestication of the 2030 Agenda, aligning and updating development plans and preparing sustainable development strategies, creating capacities to review progress, realizing the agenda at the national/local/federal levels, and exploring approaches that link development with peace. The SDGs are not a distant dream for countries coming out of conflict and the emerging innovative approaches and the initiatives being implemented in these countries are impressive. The key message is that to implement the SDGs, we need strong institutions with adequate capacities. 2. Examples of existing support for implementing the SDGs 5

6 UNDP has provided the following channels of support: Reforms to bridge capacity gaps in public administration national institutions in Georgia, Moldova, and Montenegro; Capacity Development Facilities, which provide on-demand technical advice to the highest levels of the civil service, together with training, capacity building, and funding for key national development priorities in the said countries; Public Administration Performance Index in Vietnam, which measures citizens experiences of governance and public administration performance; Gender Equality in Public Administration working with national and sub-national governments to monitor and advocate for progress on getting better representation of women across all layers and levels of public service; Flagship Capacity Development Programme in Somalia, in partnership with the World Bank, which supports the government in consolidating core government functions, particularly in tackling the various dimensions of fragility, including aid management, recovery, the building of public sector institutions, and effective and inclusive service delivery to Somalia s people. UNDP has also partnered with UNDG agencies for institutional capacity building, with UNDESA in the UN Committee of Experts on Public Administration, and co-chairs together with DPA, the UN Interagency Platform on Support to Core Government Functions in Fragile and Conflict-Affected States. UNDP Country Teams are working holistically to assess and address data gaps, including on data disaggregation, through the strengthening of national statistical capacities. In many cases, there is a lack of something as fundamental as gender-disaggregated data or census and voter registration type of data to build the first echelon of the institutional fabric that allows the holding of fair and legitimate elections, or very basic social and economic data. Germany is striving to implement the Agenda at the global level both through international processes, through cooperation with partner countries including via technical and financial cooperation. In this context, Germany stands ready to exchange experiences on how to build institutions and capacities. Since imbalances in society have a lot to do with centralization of public order, and decentralized institutions own capacities at subnational and municipal level, implementing decentralized mechanisms can overcome imbalances and inequalities within a society. The g7+ facilitates the sharing of relevant knowledge under an umbrella initiative on fragile-to-fragile cooperation; and recently launched g7+ portal to monitor 19 key SDG indicators. As many countries face similar challenges related to data gaps, streamlined solutions to address these gaps are needed across countries facing similar challenges like those of g7+. 6

7 The g7+ could look into the SDG 16 tool developed by the Transparency, Accountability and Participation Network 2 that provides civil society and other nongovernment stakeholders with guidance on how to engage with their governments and other local, regional or international stakeholders to support the planning, implementation, follow-up and accountability of Goal 16. In World Bank s experience Proxies and samples can be used in situations where a full-fledged household survey or a census is not available. Based on its support to recipient countries through its International Development Association (IDA), World Bank has identified the needs for building institutional capacity in areas related to domestic resource mobilization, public/private finance, tax reforms and illicit tax flows. In this respect, it is important to involve the private sector, including the domestic private sector, to leverage finance and provide solutions to capacity and resource challenges. The UN supports the implementation of SDG16. More specifically, the support consists, inter alia, of translating the SDGs into national actions; reforming and strengthening institutions including the statistical offices; engaging civil society and scientists, among other multistakeholders, in policy-making; and financing sustainable development, including technology and innovation. 3. Areas of support required to implement the SDGs In Somalia, limited resources are available in the national budget devoted to development issues, and in particular, to the SDGs. Developing countries that are almost starting from scratch are looking to see how to work with partners in areas such as building infrastructure, and more broadly on SDG implementation. In Estonia, there are science-policy advisors in every ministry, and scientists are already engaged in the early stages of nationalizing the SDG agenda through working groups. However, their engagement in policy-making could be broader. A practical issue that needs to be addressed is financing science, technology and innovation (STI). Greater support is required for smart specialization areas, which include information and communications technology (ICT), health technologies and services, and resource efficiency. There is also a need to raise institutional awareness of ICTs potential to achieve the SDGs. The g7+ countries started mapping the SDGs against national development priorities but translating this into action is a challenge because of limited capacity and resources. It is important to ensure that countries in fragile situations are not left behind in the data revolution. 2 For more, see 7

8 On data, a key issue is the lack of any form of identification. Over 1.5 billion people globally do not have an officially recognized document to prove their identity. Having a formally recognized form of identity provides the poor and the vulnerable with the opportunity to climb out of poverty. This is critical for achieving a wide range of development outcomes: from opening a bank account and paving the way for broader financial inclusion to accessing education services. Support via technology and financing are needed to address these issues. The g7+ countries are more exposed to climate change issues; hence there should be greater focus in these countries on resilience, social protection, and renewable energy. There is a need to strengthen the analytical capabilities of public institutions, and to decide on their priorities. In this regard, it is important to close the gap between the UN HQ and the capitals of Member States, and to effectively communicate the relevance of the 2030 Agenda. Communication needs entail how the Agenda matters, and what needs to be done differently, both with a view on long-term impact. Robust institutions are required for achieving the SDGs, and collaborations and career paths in the public sector should be incentivized. 8